Of the clutch of Pan Am players making a mark on the circuit, Presley Smith’s is perhaps the most unique story. After a not-so-promising start in his junior years, and embarking on a professional badminton journey far later than any of his peers, Smith has come a long way in quick time.

The highest-ranked Pan Am player in both men’s doubles (No.25 with Chen Zhi Yi) and mixed (No.17 with Jennie Gai), Smith has had several noteworthy performances in recent years. The graph has ticked upward this season, with quarterfinal performances at the Malaysia Open, a double at the Pan Am Individual Championships, and semifinals at his last three tournaments, in Australia, USA and Canada.

At the upcoming BWF World Championships 2026, Smith will be among the leading contenders from Pan Am in both his disciplines.

In this interview, Smith talks about his unusual journey. Part 1 of a two-part interview:

Childhood Years

I was born in Albany, New York, and we moved to Indianapolis, Indiana, when I was around one. We stayed there until I was nine, and then we moved to Baltimore. Indiana had no badminton at all. There was one small recreation center my mom would go to.

My mom is Taiwanese and she played recreational badminton. My dad was into wrestling and tennis; I think he was pretty good at tennis. When I was young, my mom would take me to the center — I would just sit there and watch. I started playing when we moved to Baltimore. There was a club there, and I used to play tennis before that, but I didn’t like it so much. I quit, and then I started playing badminton for fun. That was when I was 9-10 years old. I just kept training at that same place till I graduated high school, until I was 18. I really enjoyed it. I loved the sport, so I put everything into it, but I wasn’t great as a junior player. I was pretty unknown.

All the people on the Tour today, like Jennie (Gai), Frankie (Corbett), Allison (Lee), I would see them in the junior circuit. They would always win. They would be on top, and I was always — I was like that kid losing first round (laughs).

Moving to Taipei

But I still really enjoyed playing. When I was in my later years, like under-19, I started getting a little better. I was growing more, and then I got stronger, faster, and then I some better results in juniors. I still wanted to play after that, and I didn’t want to do school right away. So my mom told me I could go to Taipei. We could go to her old school, and then if I wanted to find a place to train and I enjoyed it, I could stay. But the plan was like go there for one year and see if I enjoyed it first.

It was a 50/50 call, because it was still a risk. I didn’t know if I could find a place to train. But if I enjoyed the schooling there, I’d just stay and do school there and then just see how it went.

I moved in 2021. I really liked it. I found a good place to train — Land Bank of Taiwan. I ended up staying for three-four years.

I’d visited Taipei a lot before, for the summer, but it’s quite different to moving and going to school there.

Integrating Quickly

It was fun. I made a lot of friends and I started to really enjoy it. It quite different than US schooling. I could speak a little Mandarin and understand a little bit, so I had a little edge over someone who was completely fresh. So I had a little head start, which was helpful.

There was not much of a culture shock. My mom would speak to me in Mandarin, but I would reply in English. So, I could understand it very well, but my speaking was not (great) — even now my tones are tones are off sometimes (laughs).

New Club, New Life

I was very lucky with the club. My mom had some connections and got me sort of a tryout with a team. They thought I was OK. I started off just training weekends, only Saturday, with their high school team.

Even then their high school team was a lot better than what I was playing with in the US, so I was pretty happy about it. I worked my way up. I got a lot better, and then I eventually started playing with the better players and then started integrating with the group a little more.

At the start it was so scary. The schooling part was easy, but walking into a club or their team, you see like these great players, like Wang Chi-Lin. These great players, that’s what hit me the most. I thought “What am I doing here? I don’t think I belong here.”

But I eventually worked my way up. I started with the high school, and then it took a while for me to gain confidence. I was always so quiet then too. I didn’t talk to people, but I always say to them, they’re all so nice. They’re so welcoming. They didn’t shun me at all. And eventually, after almost a year later, I started talking to everyone, and I felt like I could be a part of the group.

Part 2 of the interview to follow